瑞典爸爸:兩個月陪產假夠用嗎?大綱

Jim Butcher's decision to join Sweden's army of 'latte dads' last year didn't win him any popularity contests with family and friends back home in the U.K.
英國人吉姆・布徹(Jim Butcher)去年決定加入瑞典"拿鐵爸爸們"的行列，不過這個決定並沒有得到他在英國的親朋好友們的讚許。

'When I told my friends in England, they spat up their tea,' said the 35-year-old head of communications for digital-music company Spotify Ltd., which is based in Stockholm.

布徹現年35歲，在總部位於斯德哥爾摩的數字音樂公司Spotify Ltd.負責公共關係，他說，"當我這事兒告訴我英國的那些朋友時，他們把口裏的茶都噴了出來。"

'They thought my out-of-office replythat I was gone for six monthswas a joke.' His father, a self-employed bricklayer, was concerned his son was jeopardizing his career.

他說，"他們以爲我不在辦公室的自動回覆──說我要休假六個月──是在開玩笑。"他的父親是一名個體經營的瓦工，很擔心兒子這樣做會威脅到自身的職業生涯。

But Mr. Butcher had a serious agenda for his half-year hiatus: Spending uninterrupted time with his newborn daughter.
不過，布徹爲他暫停工作的這半年做出了很認真的安排：要把所有時間都用來陪伴自己剛出生的女兒。

Sweden's paternity-leave benefits, enjoyed by citizens and foreign residents alike, are the most generous in the worldand a debate is under way nationwide over whether to extend them even further. Sweden should require men to take a minimum of three months' leave, instead of the current two months, some politicians argue.
瑞典的產假福利是全球最優厚的，而且對待本國公民和外國居住者一視同仁──即便這樣，瑞典如今還在就是否要進一步延長產假時間而在全國範圍內進行着爭論。一些政客主張，瑞典應該要求男性至少休三個月陪產假，而不是現在的兩個月。

Fathers currently can take off work for as long as 240 days with a government-backed paycheck. Even if a father decides to take a more modest leave than allowed, he must take at least two months before the child is 8 years old to receive the government benefits.
目前在瑞典，父親可以休長達240天的帶薪陪產假，這段時間將由政府爲其支付工資。即使某位父親決定放棄一部分陪產假時間，他也必須在孩子八歲前至少休夠兩個月假，纔有資格拿到政府支付的工資。

Scores of dads can be seen during typical business hours strolling the streets of Stockholm, Gothenburg and other big cities pushing a stroller with one hand and nursing a cup from Espresso House or Wayne's Coffee in the other. It isn't uncommon to see men feeding babies and changing diapers in Stockholm's famous Djugarden park island, which is within view of some of the city's biggest companies and financial institutions.
在平常的工作日裏，在斯德哥爾摩、哥德堡以及其他瑞典大城市總能看到衆多的爸爸們一手推着嬰兒車、一手端着Espresso House或是Wayne's Coffee的咖啡杯在街頭漫步。在斯德哥爾摩著名的動物園島(Djugarden)上，男性在給嬰兒餵奶、換尿布的情景並不鮮見，距離這個公園不遠處，就是斯德哥爾摩幾家最大的公司和金融機構的辦公場所。

Since being instituted in 1974, the paternity-leave policy has evolved from being a mechanism to encourage women to join what was a depleted workforce in the 1970s, to serve as a tool for gender equality and home stability today.
瑞典的產假政策制定於1974年。在上世紀70年代，推出這套系統的目的是爲鼓勵女性加入就業大軍，以改變當時女性就業不足的局面。而今這個系統已經逐步演變成爲一個確保男女平等和家庭穩定的工具。

The Swedish government will pay 80% of a parent's salaryup to a cap of about $65,000for 13 months. One parent can sign over all but two of these months to the other.
瑞典政府將爲父母中的一方支付13個月的工資，數額是其月薪的80%，最高不超過6.5萬美元左右。父母中的一方可以在休夠兩個月的前提下，將剩餘的全部產假時間轉讓給另一方。

Government statistics show the vast majority of fathers take off at least the minimum two months. And about 72% of working-age women living in Sweden are employed at least part time, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This is more than in most other countries. Iceland and NorwayNordic nations which also grant generous leave benefits, have more women in the workforce.
瑞典政府的統計數據顯示，大多數的父親都會休夠這至少兩個月的底限產假時間。而根據經濟合作與發展組織(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)的數據，大約72%在瑞典居住的工作年齡女性有工作，包括全職工作和兼職工作。這個比例比其他大多數國家都要高。只有冰島和挪威這兩個北歐國家的女性就業比例高於瑞典，而這兩個國家的休假福利也同樣十分優厚。'If only women stayed home with children, women would be at a considerable disadvantage compared with men,' says Johanna Noren, a mother of one who works as a systems developer at Sweden's Royal Library. Although she supports the idea of fathers taking a third month of leave, 'it's better if people make decisions on what they want and believe, rather than on what they feel forced to do.'
約翰娜・諾倫(Johanna Noren)是一個孩子的母親，在瑞典皇家圖書館(Sweden's Royal Library)從事系統開發工作，她說，"如果只有女性在家帶孩子，那麼和男性比起來，女性會處在相當劣勢的地位。"雖然她支持讓父親們休三個月產假這個做法，但是她認爲，"要是人們能夠就自己希望和相信的事情自行做出決定，而不是被迫做出選擇，那麼會更好。"

Her husband, Marten, returns to work as a computer-systems developer on Wednesday, after going on paternity leave in October. Their son, Elis, was born in November of 2010.
諾倫的先生馬滕(Marten)是位電腦程序開發員，上週剛剛回去工作，在那之前，他自去年10月起一直在休陪產假。他們的兒子埃利斯(Elis)出生於2010年11月。

In addition to allowing him to share a lot of time with his son, 'it also felt important for me and my wife to share the parental leave equally,' says Mr. Noren. 'We said we wanted to split it evenly from the get-go and that's what we did.'
馬滕表示，除了能夠有更多的時間陪伴兒子以外，"我和我太太能夠平等地分享產假這件事本身也讓我感覺很重要。我們之前說過，我們希望從一開始算起，平分休假時間，事實上我們也是這樣做的。"

The generosity comes at a cost. Exact figures aren't available, but a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates public spending on parental leave cost 0.8% of gross domestic product, or the equivalent of $3.7 billion in 2007 alone.
優厚的福利是要付出代價的。雖然得不到確切數字，但根據經合組織公佈的一份報告估算，僅2007年一年，產假相關的公共支出就大約是瑞典國內生產總值(GDP)的0.8%，相當於37億美元。

Nevertheless, many Swedish politicians are arguing for even stiffer paternity requirements, including requiring dads to stay home a third month.
儘管如此，許多瑞典政客還在主張應該制定更爲嚴格的產假規定，包括要求爸爸們在家至少休假三個月。

The majority of the speaking time at the yearly policy meeting of liberal Folkpartiet party in October was devoted to the issue of extending paternity support. (The Folkpartiet is a member of the country's ruling coalition, led by the country's deputy prime minister.)
在去年10月份召開的自由派的自由人民黨(Folkpartiet)一年一度的政策會議上，大部分發言時間都用來談論關於是否應該延長產假這件事了。（自由人民黨是瑞典的執政聯盟成員之一，由瑞典副首相領導。）

Although the party rejected the proposal to add a required third month, the number of members in favor of the idea is rising. 'The fathers of today are not cavemen with clubs in their hand, but men that take an ever increasing responsibility for home and family,' wrote leading party member Lisbet Enbjerde in a November editorial in the Helsingborgs Dagblad newspaper.
雖然自由人民黨否決了將強制假期延長至三個月的提議，但是支持這項提議的人數卻在增加。自由人民黨的領導成員里斯波特・恩波約德(Lisbet Enbjerde)去年11月份在《赫爾辛堡日報》(Helsingborgs Dagblad)上發表社論稱，"如今的父親們不是手裏舉着大棒的原始人，而是對家庭對親人肩負着不斷增加之責任的男人。"

Tina Acketoft, a Folkpartiet member of parliament, says 'it would have been unthinkable' to see a Swedish man taking care of children in the 1950s. 'The fact that it is (now) legislated makes it socially acceptable.'
瑞典國會議員、自由人民黨成員蒂娜・阿克托夫特(Tina Acketoft)表示，在上世紀50年代，若要看到一位瑞典男性在照顧孩子，"那簡直是不可思議的"。她認爲，"（如今）有立法支持這一舉動，纔會使之爲社會所接受。"

Not everyone welcomes the potential for the government to get even more deeply involved in families' home lives.
並不是每個人都對讓政府更多地干涉家庭生活這種可能性表示贊同。

'We don't mind if fathers want to take paternal leave, but this is something that families themselves should decide, not the government,' says Emma Henriksson, a member of parliament for the conservative Christian Democrats party.
國會議員、保守派的基督教人民黨(Christian Democrats)成員艾瑪・亨裏克森(Emma Henriksson)稱，"如果父親們想要休陪產假，我們不會介意，不過這樣的事情應該由家庭成員而不是政府來決定。"

Although she is in favor of extending parental leave, she says families should decide how they allocate it. 'We don't want the government telling families how to plan their lives.'
雖然她贊同延長產假，但她認爲產假如何分配應該由家庭成員自己決定。"我們不希望由政府來告訴每個家庭該如何規劃他們的生活。"

At Swedish companies such as global retailing powerhouse Hennes & Mauritz AB, long spans of parental leave and time off for new fathers are standard. H&M pays the difference if an employee's salary goes above the government-set salary cap.
一些瑞典公司──比如業務遍佈全球的零售集團H&M公司(Hennes & Mauritz AB)──是按照統一標準規定父親們的陪產假時間。如果員工的薪資比政府設置的薪資上限要高，那麼H&M公司會補上高出的那一部分。

'Our company makes no difference between mothers or fathers taking parental leave; it's all parental leave to us,' says Jeanette Skijle, H&Ms human resources chief. She adds that H&M sees parental leave-taking as an opportunity for its employees to try out different jobs and develop new skills. She noted the manager at H&M's store in Kalmar, located in southern Sweden, is on six months paternity leave.
H&M公司負責人力資源的珍妮特・斯基吉爾(Jeanette Skijle)表示，"對於我們公司而言，母親或是父親休產假沒什麼區別；對我們來說這都是產假。"她補充道，H&M將員工休產假視爲一種機會，員工可以利用這個機會嘗試不同的工作，發展新的技能。她特別提到，該公司在瑞典南部城市卡爾馬(Kalmar)的分店經理目前正在休爲期六個月的產假。

'The fathers taking leave are actually more worried than we are (and) wonder how we'll cope in their absence,' she says, adding each H&M employee has a person appointed to take on his job if he goes on parental leave. 'People think they're irreplaceable, but frankly, nobody is irreplaceable.'
珍妮特說，"那些休假的父親們實際上比我們要擔心得多，他們很想知道他們不在時我們會如何處理他們的工作。"她接着指出，每一名H&M員工都有一位替補，可以在這名員工休假時承擔他的工作。"人們以爲自己是無可替代的，但坦率地說，沒有人是不可替代的。"

As the chief executive of videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc.'s Stockholm-based studio, 47-year old Sean Decker found this out firsthand. The Los Angeles native took two months of parental leave after his daughter's birth and managed it by delegating key tasks before he left. He only took two serious phone calls while off, he says.
現年47歲的肖恩・德克爾(Sean Decker)對此有切身體會。德克爾是洛杉磯人，是美國視頻遊戲製造商藝電公司(Electronic Arts Inc.)設在斯德哥爾摩工作室的首席負責人。他在女兒出生後休了兩個月的陪產假，休假前他將主要工作都授權給了其他人去處理，這樣才得以脫身。他說，在休假期間，他只接了兩個很重要的電話。

Even though things apparently hummed along fine at the office without him, he found a stark reality at home alone with the child, with his wife back at work.
儘管辦公室那邊沒有他似乎一切也都運轉正常，但在家裏，妻子回去上班後，他在獨自帶孩子時卻發現了一個嚴酷的現實。

Before going on leave, Mr. Decker says he thought: 'You get up, you eathow hard could it be?' He was looking forward to getting a lot of personal tasks accomplished during his time off. He was wrong.
德克爾說，他在休假前曾想着："你每天起牀，吃飯──這能有多難呢？"他本打算藉着休假的機會順便做許多私人的事情。他發現自己想錯了。

'You're pretty much switched on all day, except for a brief nap midday,' he said. 'And then there was the food. One week she liked eggs, the next day she didn't＃It's really hard to schedule life with an 11-month baby.'
他說，"你基本上全天都要滿負荷運轉，只有中午小睡的時候例外。然後你要面對吃什麼的問題。這周她喜歡吃雞蛋，隨後的一天她又不喜歡了……面對一個11個月大的嬰兒，你實在很難規劃你的生活。"

Mr. Butcher, from Spotify, had originally planned on spending his six-month leave drinking coffee and writing a script while taking breaks in the park to watch his daughter play.
Spotify的布徹起初曾計劃在六個月的假期中，利用帶女兒去公園玩的時間，邊看孩子，邊喝咖啡、寫一個劇本。

In reality, 'I'd be lucky to have 30 minutes for myself a day. The rest was just endless cleaning, feeding, changing and picking up.' He says that, two weeks into it, he wondered if he was going to last the entire leave, 'but I'm happy I did it and could bond with my daughter.'
實際上，"如果每天我能有30分鐘屬於我自己，那就算足夠幸運了。其餘的時間我只是在沒完沒了地打掃衛生、喂孩子、換尿布以及把掉在地上的東西撿起來。"他說，這樣過了兩週後，他就開始懷疑自己能不能撐下來整個假期了，"不過我很高興我做出了這個選擇，能夠有機會陪伴我的女兒。"